416 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



"t M.g. 1 sj/Ivestris Mill. Diet. No. 1. Spiny. Fruit small. It loses 



its spines in a state of cultivation, 

 t M. g. 2 stricta Dec, Ait. Hort. Kew. ii. p. 172., Dod. Pempt. 801. 



Spineless. Leaves doubly serrated. 

 "t M. g. 3 diffusa Dec., Ait. Hort. Kew. ii. p. 172., Du Ham. Arb. Fr. i. 



t. 3. Thornless. Leaves neai'ly entire. Fruit, in many instances, 



abortive of seeds. 



In the Horticultural Society's Fruit Catalogue, the following four culti- 

 vated sorts are given, which may be considered as artificial varieties : 



1. Blake's large-fruited Medlar. 



2. Dutch Medlar. Fruit the largest of any. 



3. Nottingham, or commcn, Medlar. Fruit obovate, middle size, and of 



the best quality : the only sort worth cultivating for its fruit in 

 England. 



4. The stoneless Medlar. Fruit small, and of little merit. 



The fruit of the medlar is not eaten till in a state of incipient decay, when 

 it is very agreeable to some palates ; though it is, as Du Hamel observes, 

 more un fruit de fantaisie, than one of utility. A number of trees of the dif- 

 ferent varieties may be seen in the orchard of the Horticultural Society's 

 Garden, where they have taken very picturesque shapes. 



^ 2. M. Smi'th// Dec. Smith's* Medlar. 



Identfficatkm. Dec. Prod., 2. p. 633. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 605. 



Synonymes. M. grandiflora Smith Exot. Bot. 1. p. 33. ; M. lob?ita Pair, Hook, in Bot. Mag. t, 3342. 

 Engravings. Smith Exot. Bot., 1 . t. 18. ; Eot. Mag., t. 3442. ; the plate of this species in Arb. Brit., 

 1st edit., vol. vi ; and oar fig. 760. 



760. ^^spilus Smithli. 



Spec. Char., ^c. Leaves oblong, elliptic, serrated, pubescent on the nerves 

 beneath. Flowers usually solitary. (Bon's Mill.) A deciduous tree with 

 rambhng irregular branches. Native country unknown. Cultivated in 

 1800. Height 15ft. to 20ft. Flowers white; May and June. Fruit 

 reddish brown ; ripe in October. 



As hardy as the common medlar, and well deserving a place in ornamental 

 plantations for the beauty of its flowers, whiqh are produced in great pro- j 

 fusion. The general aspect and habit of the tree are those of a CratJE''gus i 

 and, indeed, it is by many persons considered as more properly belonging kO 

 that genus than to ilfespilus. 



